Intuitive physics and cognitive algebra: A review

tIntroduction. – Intuitive physics explores how people without a formal instruction in physics intuitivelyunderstand physical phenomena. After a general overview of the topics of current research in intuitivephysics and a discussion of current debates, this paper provides an introduction to Information IntegrationTheory (IIT). Objective. – By means of examples, it is shown how IIT can be used to directly compare the algebraicstructure of physical laws and the algebraic structure of cognitive representations of these laws .Method. – The review considers about 40 years of research on the application of IIT in the field of intu-itive physics. Occasionally, reference is also made to intuitive physics studies outside this theoreticalframework. Results. – The reviewed studies highlight four main factors that affect the degree of consistency betweenphysical laws and cognitive algebraic laws: the participants’ age, their familiarity with the event understudy, the type of task, and possible learning processes. Conclusion. – The last part of the article discusses the implications of the results of the reviewed studiesfor the two main current hypotheses on the nature of intuitive physics, namely, that intuitive physicsmay be based on sub-optimal heuristics or may be based on the internalization of physical laws.